Sendstack, a logistics platform supported by OnDeck, is phasing out its primary last-mile delivery service, DLVR, to concentrate on a new offering called CTRL. This new product is designed to assist businesses in managing delivery routing and tracking, maintaining communication with drivers and customers, handling payments, and providing operational insights through a dashboard.
While DLVR catered to small and medium-sized enterprises in need of last-mile delivery solutions, CTRL is aimed at larger corporations with established logistics teams, which may include in-house delivery fleets or third-party collaborators. The decision to discontinue DLVR comes as a surprise given its reported success, serving 20,000 businesses, generating $250,000 in revenue, and achieving profitability post-fulfillment.
However, cofounders Ifeoma Nwobu and Emeka Mba-Kalu view DLVR as a strategic stepping stone that allowed Sendstack to gain valuable insights into the logistics challenges that CTRL is now poised to address. Mba-Kalu, reflecting on the transition, suggested that DLVR could have been sunsetted sooner, acknowledging the difficulties in managing both products simultaneously.
CTRL aligns with Sendstack’s ambition to establish a comprehensive digital logistics infrastructure for African businesses, facilitating access to various logistics providers for transporting goods. Mba-Kalu also sees CTRL as a product with greater scalability potential, especially in emerging markets with bustling economic activity and fragmented logistics sectors, like South East Asia.
The shift to CTRL presents a cost-effective growth opportunity for Sendstack but also introduces the challenge of convincing traditional businesses to adopt new technologies, which may necessitate substantial organizational changes and training for delivery personnel and logistics teams.
Closing deals with these larger enterprises can be a protracted process, as highlighted by Guy Futi, founder of Orda, who pointed out that software sales to such entities can take up to six months or more, with integration across branches extending even longer.
Nwobu acknowledges that many businesses are comfortable with manual operations and are able to move quickly. Nonetheless, Sendstack’s proposition is that centralizing logistics processes on a single platform can significantly cut overhead costs and reduce the time spent resolving issues stemming from delayed or poor communication between delivery partners.
The company may find a more receptive audience among younger, digital-first businesses in sectors like e-commerce, food delivery, and telemedicine. As the B2B logistics market becomes increasingly competitive, software solutions like Sendstack’s CTRL that aim to optimize the infrastructure for existing and new market players are becoming more popular.
In Kenya, for example, startups like Leta have gained considerable traction, expanding into five countries and securing clients such as Simbisa Brands, Chandaria Industries, and Twiga Foods within their first two years. This trend is likely to continue, with more startups following suit.
